Ore-dock.



E. w. SUMMERS.

ORE DOCK.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.5,19H.

Patented July 3, 1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

E. w. SUMMERS. ORE DOCK. 1,2321 19 APFILICATION FILED JAN. 5| ISH. IPatented 3,

6 SHEETS--SHEET 4- `FIGS 7.72m: i f

E. W. SUMMEHSlv ORE DOCK. lAPPLICATION FILED Mn. 5 1an.

1 1 9., f Patentedulys, 1917.

6 SHEETS*SHEET 5- WITNESSES INVENTOH ORE DOCK. nPPLlcAmoN FILED JAN.5.191|.

fatal-'need ,my 3, 1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

WITNESSES INVENTOFI EDGAR w. sum/Inns, or PITTSBURGH, rnnnsYLvaNraORE-DOCK.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917.

' Application led January 5, 1911. Serial No. 600,896.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR W. SUMMnRs,

y a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of hereinafter described andclaimed.

v ets or bins;

Allegheny and Sta-te of Pennsylvania,.have invented a new and usefulImprovement in OrefDocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to docks, and particularly to docks lforreceiving ore and similar material and discharging the same into boats.

The object of the invention is to provide a dock for the purposespecified from which the ore or4 similar material can be loaded intoboats much more expeditiously and in much less time than with such docksas heretofore constructed, and whereby the labor of loading the boats isvery greatly reduced. As a result a single'dock according to myinvention is able to handle a much largerv quantity of ore thandocks asheretofore constructed, and the time of holding Y,

the boats in the harbor for loading is very materially reduced.

The invention comprlses the construction,

arrangement and combination of features In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a vertical section through one of the pockets or bins and areceiving boat, and showing the discharge chute in elevation; Fig. 2 isa side elevation of one of the pock- Fig. 3 is a vertical transversesection through one of the pockets or bins showing the disposltion ofthe ore therein' and the manner 1nv which the same flows out of thesame; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is adiagrammatic view taken on a vertical longitudinal section through thebin or pocket illustrating the dischargepf the material from the bin;Fig, 6 is a side elevation of two of the pockets or bins, the upperportions being in section, and illustrating the operating mechanism Fig.7 is an en d view of a portion of a bin illustrating the door and chuteoperatingmechanism; Fig. 8 is a detail view of the doors and theiroperating mechanism looking at the sides of the doors; Fig. 9 is asimilar view Vshowing the doors in end view; Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 aredetail views ofthe door loperating mechanism; Fig. V14 is a sideelevation of the chute operating shaft and connecting ropes;

Fig. 15 is a transverse section of the same door and chute on the line15e-15, Fig. 14; Fig. 16 is a transversesection on the line 16-16, Fig.14; F ig. 17 is in- :part a plan view and in part a horizontal `sectionshowing the motor and connected shafts for actuating 'the door and chuteoperating'niechanisms; Fig.

`18 is a section on the line 18418, Fig. 17;

state is very stickyand frequently clogs inthe discharge openings indock pockets as heretofore constructed. Asaconsequence it has been foundnecessary to poke the ore by hand labor, which not only results inconsiderable expense, but in a tremendous loss of time. To obviate thenecessity o such hand` poking, and to insure the automatic flow of theore from the pockets or bins'to the boat, and to expedite the loading ofthe boats is Athe primary'object of this invention.

The dock is provided ywith any suitable foundation 1 alongside the usualharbor slip for receiving the boats, one of which is shown in crosssection at 2, in Fig. 1. The.

usual fenders or guards 3 are provided along the foundation of the dockagainst which the boat is tied'. The frame or trestle work 4' ofthe dockmay be of any suitable construction and design, preferably of steel.This trestle or frame serves discharge chutes and. the operatingmechanism. The pockets or' to support the pockets or bins, the

bins, indicated as an entirety by the reference numeral 6, are arrangedin series along the dock as is the usual practice, and are adapted toreceive the ore from cars run' on tracks above said pockets or bins.

Heretofore these pockets or bins have had one side wall sloping and theother side wall vertical, withthe discharge opening and door therefor inthe lower portion of the vertical wall. In the improved bins the endwalls 7 are vertical as is the usual practice. but4 both side walls 8are inclined, preferably at the same angle, and converge dischargechute; Fig. 22 is in faol l thermore, by flvrging side toward each otherdownwardly. The disopening is relieved.

Above the series'of'poekets arearranged two supply tracks 10 and l1 forthe cars 12 vwhich bring the ore from the mines. These tracks are solocated that when the ore is discharged from the cars it lfalls onto.the

sloping side walls of the pocket, and not di.

rectlyupon the doors which close the discharge opening. l. This isclearly shown in Fig. 1.' When the pocketlis full the material isAdisposed substantially as shown in Fig. 3, theslowest point of the topsurface of the material being directly above the discharge opening. Whenthe doors are opened the material immediately above drops down,

and. progressively breaks away from underneath infprogressivelyincreasing arches, somewhat 1n the manner indicated by the dotted lineson Fig. 3, said breaking away gradually extending upwardly toward thetop surface of themass of ore in the pocket." As soon as sufficientmaterialhas '30 dropped awayto weaken'the remaining arch sulficientlythe twol masses of ore on the two opposite sloping walls slide towardeach l other, or. toward the center of the pocket.

These two masses are practically in the form of parallelepipeds movingtoward each other andv cont-acting at their upper corners.v

As a` consequence the point of pressure is near the'top surface of thesemasses, while farther down and particularly at the dis- .5 it readilycharge opening the materialis subjected to no pressure and is thereforeloose so that the A.discharge opening. This Varrangement 4 e'hargeAopening,

-prevents the ore from clogging .at the dis? as will be apparent.v:,IIFurhaving the two oppositelygfcon'- expend their-forcefone againstthe other, in'- .f stead' of battering against'. the door as is the.case with the old style. dock in ldischarge, doorslare the .verticalside wall which the "of the pocket.,l The consequence is that thecharging ."of the outlet opening is prevented by reason pocket -is notas yseverely battered by diswithprior constructions; andthe clogging ofso di osing the mass of material in the pocket t at'the area ofpressuredoes not at a point remote therefrom.y y

The discharge opening of each pocketl is 'almost as wide as the distancebetween the vertical end walls 4of the pocket, as shown in occur at ornear the discharge opening, but

from each other,

,of the chute is crumbles away and fallsthrough walls 'thematerialdischarged' Kfrom carson thetwo tracks `meet yeach other at the, centerline of thepoeketl and 50 vthat'is to say, i

vheavy material into the same as vterial can clog.

Fig. 5.. The doors 15 are preferablyy of thel hinged type', althoughthey may be of the" bodily movable type, with their axes parallel tolthe end walls of the poc et, that is, transverse of the dock. Thepivotal points of the doors are indicated at 16, said doors slopingdownwardlyand'toward each other and meeting edge to edge. When releasedthe lower edges of the doors swing away as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 5, thereby removing the support for the entire area of the doorsfrom underneath the mass of ore above the same, so thatr said massimmediately begins to move down, and beginsto break away at the apex anddrops through the opening between the doors even when the latter areonly'slightly open. By slowly-openin -the doors farther and farther thesupport' or the mass which would otherwise beaforded by the doors iscontinually being withdrawn, so that the mass continues to movedownwardly and discharge between the doors. These doors are of veryconsiderable length transversely of the dock and provide a dischargeopening J which is long but comparatively narrow and I' through which along narrow stream of ore,

discharges.

Underneath thedoors isy arranged a stavtionary chute section 17 ofsomewhat greater J width than the maximum pwidth of the dis'- chargevopening between the inner edges of the doors when they are fully open.This" stationary chute vsection has substantially vertical side walls 18and a sloping bottom 19 lonto which the material falls. The axisparallel to the longitudinal loo axis of the door o ening, and as aconsequence the ore fal s down` .into the chute and moves down the samein a narrow stream, (Fig. y5) being deposited in the chute practicallyin successive layers one on top of the other, as indicated in dottedlines, Flg. 3. This hasv the eiect of keeping the entire mass ofdischarging material moving awa'yinv a' constantly moving narrow streamin 'a conduit which does not narrow and hence without chance of' jammingor chokilg in any part of the chute. It also has the e ect ofthoroutghly mixing the material;

-ore of one'analysis is deposited in one side of the ocket, and ore ofav different analysis deposited in the other side. of the pocket, theserun through the discharge opening between the doors and are laid inlayers one upon the other on the moving narrow stream of ore.

The discharge chute is somewhat wider than the maximum width of theopeningbetween the doors (Fig. 5) soA that the stream has a chance toexpand laterally. This discharge chute is of unif from end to end, sothat there .is no point`v of restricted cross sectlon in which the maormcross section The movable chute section is indicated at 20, beingpivotally mounted at 21 at the end of the stationary chute section. Themovable chute section is slightly wider than the stationary chutesection-so that its upper end fits outside of the lower end of thestationary chute section (Fig. 2). The movable chute section likewise isoit uniform cross section Jfrom end to end so as not to oil'er anyportion of restricted area in which the material can clog. It isentirely smooth from end to end, but as it must be made of rather heroicdimensions, about forty feet long and/about four feet wide, it is notpossible to make it from one sheet of metal. It must thereforebe builtup, and in order to obviate the use of cross joints or seams thesections of plate from which it is made run for the full length of thechute and p external joints. This is illustrated in Figs. 20 and 21, inwhich the joints are formed by riveting together outturned flanges 22 onthe edges'or1 Vthe plates. vThe top edges of the chute are formed andstrengthened by angle bars 23. As a consequence the joints run in thesame direction as the iiow of the'i material and offer no resistance tosuch fiow and for practical purposes the chute,` a1- though of.verylarge size, has as smooth an interior as if formed from a singlesheet of metal. l

It will be readily gathered from the foregoing that' the formation ofthe pocket or bin `with opposite side walls sloping and convergingtoward each other, with the discharge opening at the bottom of saidconverging sides, and with the chute-arrangedA with its axes paralleltothe longitudinal axis of the door opening, provides an arrangementfrom which the ore is discharged entirely by gravity, without danger ofclo As a consequence, the labor of po ing and the delay caused by theclogging which has heretofore occurred is entirely obviated, and theocket can be emptiedin la very small fraction of the time which isnecessary with the old arrangement of la r Thefmechanism for opening andclosing the doors 15 is as :follows:

Toeach end of each door is connected a .link 25, the two links at thecorresponding ends-of a pair of doors being pivotallyconnected to ablock 26. The actuating mechamsm comprises a right and left hand screw27 mounted in a suitable bearing member 28, held by brace 28, and havingworking thereon two nuts 29 and 30, one of said nuts working on theright hand ortion of the screw and the .other on the le hand portionthereof, so that when the screw is rotated these nuts are,simultaneously moved either toward or from each other. Pivoted to eachnut is an equalizer or evener 31, to whose are joined by longitudinalIopposite ends are connected the two ends of a cable 32, which cableslead to the opposite ends of the doors, so that said doors aresimultaneously-lifted or lowered at both ends. The two reaches ofeach/'double cable pass over double guide sheaves 33, and thenceupwardly and over similar guide sheaves 34 and thence through the blocks26 `which vconnect the ends of the links 25. The v blocks 26 are soconstructed that the cable lpasses through the same, so that there is no29 and 30 move toward each other, thereby pulling on the double cables32 and closing the doors 15; and when said screw is rotated in theopposite direction the nuts 29 and 30 move away from each other, therebyslacking the cables and permitting the doors to drop. The screw-necessarily 'imparts a rather slow movement to the nuts 29 and 30, sothat the'opening movement of the doors is rather slow, which is to bedesired, as there is a continuous withdrawal of the support offered bythe doors to the mass of ore contained in the pocket, as hereinbeforedescribed.

The'mechanism for handling the movable chute section 20, as is necessaryin order to discharge the ore at diii'erent points widthwise in thehatch of the boat, and for elevating the chute so that it is out of theway, comprises acableor rope 38 which is attached near the outer end ofthe chute section and passes over a guide sheave 39 mounted near theupper portion of the dock and thence to a drum 40 on a power drivenshaft 41 mounted in a suitable bearing frame v 42. Also secured to theshaft 41 is the drum 43 on which is wound a cable or rope 44 whichpasses between adjacent 1 stationary chute sections17 and over guidesheaves 45 and 46 and has connected to its free enda counter weight 47.The members 38 and 44 preferably are at ropes, as shown, although ofpower necessary toV handle the same.A

The shaft 4l has secured thereto a worm wheel 48 which is engaged by aworm 49 the door operating mechanism, I provide the following means:

Each ofthese shafts is provided with a square or like end, which endsproject trans.

versely -of the dock and lie in substantially `the same horizontalplane,as shown in Fig. ,6. Extending lgallery 'upon which is a track 56 alongalong the dock is a suitable which may be propelled a car 57 upon whichis mounted a suitable motor 58, such as an electric motor. This car canbe readily moved by hand from pocket to pocket, and

the electric current can be supplied to the l motor either by a suitableconductor located between the track and suitably protected,

or, by having a conductor concealed along the frame of the dock andprovided with suitable sockets into which may be plugged a cord leadingto the motor.v As both schemes are perfectly obvious and wellunderstood, they are not illustrated. Various forms of transmittinggearing may be used, one being as shown in Figs. 17, 18 and 19.Rotatably mountedin bearings 60 on the car 57 'are a pair of hollowshafts or quills marked respectively 61 and 62. Keyed respectively tothese quills are gear lWheels 63 and 64 which mesh with a pinion 65 onthe armature shaft of motor 58 so that the operation of the motorrotates| both of thequills 61 and 62. Extending through these quills aresolid shafts marked respectively 66 and 67, which have at their outerends a driving connection with the quills but in a manner to permit theinner ends of the solid shafts to move slightly up, down and sidewise.

The driving connection is made by providing the outer ends of the quillswith square' or other non-circular shaped sockets 68, and providing theouter 'ends of the solid shafts with yheads 69 of similar crosssectional.

These heads 69 longitudinally of shape. the shafts are' very slightlyrounded so as to permit a slight rocking movement of the solid shafts,as heretofore'. stated. Plugs 70 close the ends of sockets 68 andprevent the escape of the solid shafts from the quills.

The free ends of the solid shafts are of square or other non-circularcross section, and slidably mounted thereon are coupling sleeves markedrespectively 72 and 73, which are adapted to coupleV the s uare freeends of the shafts 66 and 67 to t e square ends of screw worm shaft 27and sh'aft 50, re-

spectively. These coupling ,sleeves 72 and 73 have a bore conforming inshape to the square ends of the shafts which they are to couple, butlongitudinally these 4bores are -very slightly- `curved so .as tocompensate for the difference of angle between' the A connecte coupledshafts, which is likely to occur as the track uponwhich the car movesmay notbe absolutely true so that the coupling shafts may be slightlyout of alinement.

The coupling is made or broken by merely sliding the sleeves 72 and 73lengthwise onv the shafts 66 and 67. To facilitate the engagement ofthese sleeves with the shafts to which they are to be coupled the outerends of said sleeves are bell-mouthed, as shown at 74. The sleeves aremoved lengthwise on their shafts from levers 75 and 76, respectively,connected by links 77 to arms 78 on rockin shaft 79 and outer hollowsleeve or sha 79a, respectively, and which are each provided with otherarms 80, arranged in pairs and engagingA annular grooves formed in thesleeves, much in the manner of moving a clutch by a forked clutch lever.

The car, with electric motor thereon, is pushed along the track by handand stopped in such position that the shafts 66 and 67 are substantiallyin alinement respectivelty t with the lscrew shaft 27 and the worm sha50. Then by operating one or the other of the levers 7 5 or 76 therespective shaft 66 or 67 is coupled to they desired operating shaft bylongitudinal movement of the sleeve 72 01u73. Asa consequence the doorsand Ythe chute are operated by power. The chute speed of the motor canbe varied at will...

The motor will also be provided with the usual automatic brake whichbecomes effective whenever Athe current supply to the motor is broken.These automatic brakes operating Velectrically are well understood inthe art, particularly on elevator motors and the like, and hence are notillustrated or described.

In the stationary chute section 17 there vis preferably provided a gate84 pivoted at 85 near its upper edge and adapted to swing in thedirection of flow of the material, as shown in Fig. 3. This gate isprovided with a counter weight 86 to closefthe same. To the free end ofthe Agate is pivoted a curved notched bar 87 adapted to have its notchesengage a fixed stop 88 secured to the chute and therefore adapted tohold the gate rin anyl one of several positions so' that said gate willbe open more or less as desired. To the 'u per end of the curved bar 87is a chain 89 or similar member which -extends up through the Hoor .ofthe designed to hold in the upper 5 chute section a small quantity ofmaterlal in case the doors for any reason cannot be closed or it isdesired not to close the same.

Figs. 22, 23 and 24: illustrate a modification of thel motor mechanismfor operating the doors and chutes. As there illustrated the armatureshaft of the motor 58 extends longitudinally instead of transversely ofthe car. The motor pinion, preferably on a countershaft running at aslow'er speed than the armature shaft, is indicated at 91, and is shownas a beveled pinion meshing with a similar pinion on the connectingshaft 92. The latter is rotatable in yoke 93, A,which in turn ispivotally mounted on the extension 94 ofthe motor shaft, so that theshaft 92 can be swung about the axis of the motor shaft. This couplingshaft 92 is provided with a coupling sleeve similar to the sleeve 7 2shown in Fig. 17 for coupling to the door and chute operating shafts. Asingle couling shaft 92 may be provided, or a plurality thereof.' Theshaft 92 is flexibly connected to its pinion 95, as shown in Fig. 24, bymeans of a square head 96 filling a corresponding recess in the pinion.The pinion has a sleeve 97 which is rotatable in the yoke 93.

rlhe coupling shaft illustrated in Fig. 22 is lcapable of being swung tooperate shafts on opposite sides of the motor shaft, as indicated indotted lines in said figure. This adapts this motor not only foroperating the doors and chutes of the dock pockets but also foroperating the door mechanism of the cars 12. For the latter purpose atrack 10 extends along the top o the dock between the supply tracks 10andfll, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the doors of the cars can be poweroperated from the motor illustrated, and which is shown of the 'sametype as that illustrated in Fig. 22.

The construction and arrangement of the dock and the manner of using thesame will be understood from the foregoing description in connectionwith the drawings. This dock not only very greatly reduces the amount oflabor which is necessary in the operation of docks as heretoforeconstructed, but also reduces the liability of the ore clogging vin thepockets and in the discharge chutes, and verygreatly expedites theloading of the boats, thereby reducing the time that the boats mustremain in the slip, and enabling a single dock to load a much largernumber of boats than has been possible with prior dock construction.

The reduction of labor is due to two causes; first, the power mechanismfor operating the doors and chutes so that a single y man operates asmany doors and chutes quired, to properly deposit the same `with a slipon each side,

through the power mechanism described as several men with the old formsof operating mechanism for these parts; and, second, the

almost entire absence of poking or loosening the material in the pocketsor chutes. While the first cost of the dock, may be slightly largerthanwith docks as heretofore constructed, yet, considering the capacityof the dock the-first cost is very much less. The operating cost iscertainly very much less than that of prior docks, and the saving inl,time for the boats is also a very important item.

The operator is located on the gallery 55 underneath thev overhangingportions of the bins so that he is sheltered from the inclemency of theweather, and is in such position that he has full view of the hatchwaysof the boat into which the ore is being discharged and also, of the dooropenings above. On account of the sheltered position 'of the operator,the operation of loading is not likely to cease on account of rainstorms, as heretofore, and his unobstructed observation of both thehatchways and the doors enables him to regulate the stream of ore asrein the boat, to trim the same, to cut oii the supply at the propertime, and also to observe the outflow of the ore from the bin so that hecan avoid threatened'clogging by opening thev doors slightly wider. Theconvenience of this operating pos`tion is in marked contrast to priordock construction in which the operators who control the chute movementand poke the ore out are stationed above the dock and not in a positionwhere they can see either the doors or the hatchways.

My dock will preferably be constructed in two parallel series of pocketsside by side, as has been the practice heretofore, and which isindicated in Fig. 1 in which the broken away portion on the left handside -indicates a similar pocket to the one which is illustrated.

What I claim is:

1. In a dock, a pocket or bin having opwalls, doors closmg said openingand arranged to provide a long, narrow discharge opening whose long axisis transverse to the length of the dock, and a chute leading fromunderneath said. doors with its axis parallel to the axis of the dischare opening.

2. In a dock, a pocket or bin aving oppositely arranged sloping sidewalls with a discharge opening at the bottomv of said converging sides,doors closing said lopening and arranged when opento provide a long,narrow discharge opening whose long axis is transverse to the-len 'h ofthe dock, and a narrow chute of uniform cross section from end to endleading from underneath said doors with its axis parallel to the. 13g

axis of said opening, and operating means for said doors arranged topositivel said doors stationary in any desire position between full openand closed position, thereby to secure any desired width of discharge yopening.

3. In a dock, a pocket or bi-n having opv positely arranged sloping sidewalls with a whereby the material comlng from the narrow dischargeopening is deposited in layers in the moving stream of material in thechute. ,v

4. In a dock, a pocket 'or bin having oppositely arrangedA sloping sidewalls with a discharge opening at the bottom of said walls,

doors closing said opening and arranged When open to provide a ong,narhold` lrow discharge opening whose long axis is cated beneath theoverhanging portion of said bin and a chute having a stationary portioneading from underneath said doors to a point beneath said platform andhaving its axis parallel to the long axis of said discharge opening.

5. In a dock, a pocket or bin provided with opposite side Walls slopingldown'- wardly and toward each other'and having vertical end walls, thedischarge opening being at the bottom of the converging side walls andsubstantially as long as the distance between the vertical end walls,and doors for said openings arranged with their axes parallel to the endWalls and meeting at the center line of said discharge opening andopening away from each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. y

EDGAR W. SUMMERS. v Witnesses:

F. W. "WINTER, MARY E. CAHooN.

